Live Oak Bank Expands its Focus into Death Care Management

January 23, 2012 Wilmington, NC – Live Oak Bank has expanded its concentration beyond the veterinary, dental and pharmacy industries to include lending for death care management business owners/operators. The bank will provide financing services including acquisition, refinancing, real estate, ground-up construction and remodel projects. In an effort to provide impeccable service and expertise to small business owners in this industry, we staffed a seasoned specialist in death care management along with having a consultant on hand.

On October 1st, Doug Gober was welcomed to the team. As a Senior Loan Officer, Gober will act as the industry expert and will help launch Live Oak Bank into unchartered territory. Thirty-two years ago, Gober began his funeral service careers as a sales representative in the casket industry. He has also served as a consultant on various international projects. From 1995 until 2011, Gober was offered a position with The Doody Group. He served as Executive Vice President and flawlessly directed and oversaw their European operations. From there, he accepted a position with Carriage Services, where he served as the

Director of Development and Marketing.
Joining Live Oak Bank’s Board of Directors, is industry veteran, Jerald Pullins. Pullins will also take an active role in a consultative capacity as Live Oak Bank emerges into the death care management vertical. After earning his MBA at the University of Texas, Pullins launched his career in death care management in 1969 by accepting the position of Vice President of Corporate Development with Service Corporation International (SCI), a company that began by acquiring largely family-owned funeral and cemetery businesses. From 1984 until 1991, Pullins served as the President and Chief Executive Officer for The Sentinel Group, Inc., which grew from a startup to a $100 million business focusing on funeral, cemetery, insurance and related businesses. In 1991, Sentinel was acquired by SCI, which by that time, was the leading consolidator and operator of funeral home and cemetery-related businesses in North America. Pullins transitioned back over to SCI and was appointed to executive roles that would allow him to implement his plan for increased profitability and growth and would guide the organization into becoming a leader in the industry.

“As we break into a new Industry, I feel confident knowing that we have experts of this caliber to support this venture. No Two guys can bring more knowledge and Insight to the table than Gober and Pullins,” commented Live Oak Bank’s Chief Executive Officer, Chip Mahan.

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Disclaimer: This link will take you to a website outside of the Live Oak Bank site. The new site may offer a different privacy policy and level of security. Live Oak Bank is not responsible for the products or services that are offered or expressed on other websites.